Rankings are all anyone cares about in the preseason. Do you draft a third baseman before you take a shortstop? Do you want a hitter or pitcher in the fifth round? Which bullpen arm is the one to target late?

Those are the type of questions that consume people in the preseason. I understand the desire to look at the world as if everything is that straightforward and certain. But we live in the real world and we all know that life isn’t just that simple, so why would fantasy baseball be?

This Guide has positional rankings for mixed leagues, AL and NL-only setups, the lists you should be using when putting your team together (it’s how we’ve all drafted our teams since the beginning I would assume). You'll clearly be able to discern which players we think are better than others – they are ranked higher (that’s elite level knowledge right there). Those rankings also have the added bonus of tiered players as well. What is tiering? Why does it matter? Let me explain the theory to you so that you can take your game to the next level in 2016.

Tiering is a model used by yours truly, and many others, to rank players by putting "like" performers on the same level or tier. Though such a simple concept, it is hard for some people to grasp because of their incessant need to draft the best player with every pick (a notion that I disposed of in “Why No Top-Whatever List?”). Honestly folks, you’re making things more complicated than they need to be. Ask yourself this simple question: Is there really any difference between Howie Kendrick, Daniel Murphy, Neil Walker and Ben Zobrist? A little extra power here, a bit more speed there, but overall is there really any difference? I will answer for you – no there isn’t.

You might prefer one or another, but in terms of their overall fantasy outlook, and likely overall production, there really isn’t much difference at all. That means, in theory, that taking any player on that tier will give you a player that is likely to perform in a similar manner to any other player on that tier. In theory. So why kill yourself to draft one of the four second baseman? The answer is you shouldn’t. Your goal should be to roster one of the second basemen since they are all on same tier in our hypothetical rankings.

To review… it really doesn't matter which player on that tier you get. Sure you would prefer the player who is ranked higher, we all would, but what we're trying to do with the tiering model isn't targeting a specific player but instead targeting a tier. Let's look at the 2015 preseason rankings for second base to delve into things a bit more fully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Tier 1 – Robinson Cano was all alone last season. His consistency and run production set him apart. I know you were disappointed if you rostered him last year but a .287-21-79-82 season is still pretty damn good, but I digress.

Tier 2 – Some old guys, some young, some power, some speed. Remember, we’re not saying that all the players are the same. We’re saying that the players’ overall value will be similar. If you rostered Jose Altuve you could target that power bat in the outfield. If you rostered Brian Dozier you had great counting numbers but desperately needed to address the batting average category.

Tier 3 – This is the tier that had all the guys I mentioned above.

Tier 4 – A little less certain, a little less skilled. You get the point at this point. I hope.


How do you put this theory in practice? A few tips.

(1) You have to determine which tier you're comfortable having a player from at each position. If you're in a 10-team mixed league and there are 12 second basemen in the first three tiers there is no incentive at all to reach on a second sacker. Flipside, if you want to have a second baseman in the top-3 tiers and you're in a 15-team mixed league you can't just sit idly by watching them all get scooped up since there is a larger need than there are performers to fill the need.

(2) Be open to the idea of getting a non-specific player from a tier, not just “one” guy that you would sell your kids to (many of you might sell your kids for little, so maybe I should have written sell your hot rod for). This is the biggest leap to make. Remember, we’re really not rostering players, we’re rostering production. Runs, homers, strikeouts, saves… it’s the numbers that matter. We've been taught forever that we have to have Player A or Player B. I'm not telling you to forgo that line of thought, but realize that while you might prefer Player A that Players B, C and D might produce very similar numbers.

(3) This last point is the biggest advantage that the tiering model offers. An example:

Let's say there are 12 top-3 tier players at second base.

Let's say there are eight top-3 tier players at catcher.

Let’s say that 11-of-12 second baseman have been drafted.

Let’s say that 4-of-8 top-3 catchers are still on the board.

Our tiering model would suggest to you that you take the second baseman first, with the idea being that it’s highly unlikely that all four catchers will be taken before the last second baseman goes (of course, not all leagues are the same – we’re just playing the percentages here). Even if a top-overall list has all four catchers listed above the second baseman, the tiering model points you to getting that last starter worthy second baseman that you trust first – even if he “ranks” last according to ADP or that top-list.


I’m telling you, give it a shot. You might be surprised how much the tiering model helps.